Locus of control, television viewing, and eating disorder symptomatology in young females.

The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of locus of control and television watching (number of hours of television watched per week) on eating disorder symptomatology in girls between the ages 10-17 years. A 2 x 2 factorial design was employed in which girls were identified either as (a) being higher or lower viewers of television, and (b) having either an external or internal locus of control. Girls with an external locus of control had significantly greater eating disorder symptomatology than those with an internal locus of control. For girls watching higher amounts of television, those having an external locus of control had significantly greater eating disorder symptomatology than those having an internal locus of control. Copyright 2002 The Association for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.